I imagine that this, in the twisted minds of the PR agencies running the show is supposed to be some meaningful gesture. I fail to see the meaning, if it is not that of blatant ridding of evidence, with investigations and trials still open.

Meanwhile for the one year anniversary they managed to create a little bit of buzz by staging the usual fake confrontation between families, survivors and the authorities. We have seen this with 9/11 happening since day one so no surprise there: Costa Concordia survivors defy request to stay away from ceremony marking anniversary of cruise ship disasterhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ds-newsxml

Below is a photo of one of several, fabricated somewhere, heavy steel platforms to be positioned underwater on the slooping sea floor outside the wreck of Costa Concordia at Isola del Giglio to be used to refloat the water filled wreck. The platform will be lifted on a pontoon at the construction yard and towed to Isola del Giglio, where a floating crane will lift off the platform and put it on underwater on the sea floor.Source: http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... 35x368.jpgI have my doubts that the picture is real and look forward to observations supporting my doubts.

I went back to Isola del Giglio January 13, 2013 to attend the memorial events and listen. A person having the same job I did for many years (in another company) is accused of manslaughter! It could have been me! The ferry to the island was not full of people. At 10.00 am the big rock that apparently produced the port side hull structural damages was repositioned on the sea floor outside Isola del Scole. Relatives of victims, invited by Costa, deposited flowers in sea there. Evidently nobody died at the contact outside Isola del Scole, so why deposit flowers there? At 11.00 am there was a ceremony at the church, where, after some religious sermons, framed certificates of thanks were handed out to Italian admirals, generals and high civil servants of all kind of various organisations having assisted to send the survivors home.

Later, 9.45.07 pm sirens were blown and there was a silent minute at the port. The contact occurred at 9.45.07 pm a year earlier! But nobody died then. What kind of event was this?

Ship owner Costa Crociere SpA, the Italian unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., sent several passengers a letter telling them they were not invited to the official anniversary ceremonies Jan. 13, 2013, on the island of Giglio, where the hulking ship still rests on the coral reef. Costa said the day was focused on the families of the 32 people who died Jan. 13, 2012, not the 4 200 passengers and crew who survived.

"We are sure that you will understand both the logistical impossibility of accommodating all of you on the island, as well as the desire for privacy expressed by the families at this sorrowful time," Costa chief executive Michael Thamm wrote in the letter obtained by The Associated Press.

He expressed sympathies to the survivors and said he trusted that their thoughts and prayers "will help lead us to a brighter future."

Evidently there were no problems at all to accommodate 4 200 people on the island and bring 4 200 people from the island on Jan. 14, 2012!

Most people I talked to on the island condemned the Master, F. Schettino. It was his fault that people died. It seems that most people had forgotten that all deaths occurred at about 00.34 am the next day, Jan. 14, 2012, when the ship capsized outside the port of the island. But at 00.34 am nothing was done at Porto Giglio.

It seems the Master Francesco SCHETTINO of Costa Concordia is just going to be charged with a minor infraction of cooperation in destruction or deterioration of a protected habitat inside a natural site!Good news. All charges about manslaughter, etc, have been dropped. Media evidently does not report it. Trial starts April 15, 2013.http://heiwaco.tripod.com/news8.htm#252

For 13 months the prosecutor has told media that the ship master deserves 20 years in jail for manslaughter and put him under house arrest, etc, and finally the ship master is just accused of a minor infraction. And media does not report it.The shipowner has blamed the shipmaster for everything and fired him apparently for incompetence (and started its own web page about it).It seems the prosecutor accepts the contact Jan 13, 2012, was a stupid accident but tries to ignore the capsize Jan. 14, 2012, killing people and what caused it, e.g. an illegal watertight door incorrectly approved by Italian maritime administration with ship owners agreement as a possibility. What the shipowner now thinks is unclear. Evidently a competent shipowner never fires a shipmaster after an incident. Better keep the ship master employed in the home office for a while. The whole affaire is very strange. I still think the Jan.13 structural contact damages look unreal. But the story does not end April 15-24, 2013 at the trial.The strange salvage operation is still on and will now cost $530M!! It does not look very professional in my eyes. And we still await the official technical incident investigation report (that by law should have been published in January 2013).

Heiwa wrote:It seems the Master Francesco SCHETTINO of Costa Concordia is just going to be charged with a minor infraction of cooperation in destruction or deterioration of a protected habitat inside a natural site!Good news. All charges about manslaughter, etc, have been dropped.

No, no - dear Heiwa! Wait!

In Italian legal terms, "archiviazione" means that a given charge has been dropped.

full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2J6ffQuaT8

What has been dropped (from Schettino's charges) is precisely that minor infraction ("deterioration of a protected habitat inside a natural site"). The rest of the charges against Schettino still stand. But get this: that absurd Youtube video (officially published in six languages by the Tribunal of Grosseto) actually lists the recently DROPPED charges which had formerly been raised against various entities. The Italian newspaper La Stampa tells us that these Youtube videos/and Facebook messages are an "unusual undertaking by the Italian justice system - yet a useful way to inform <<via public announcements>> the more than 4200 survivors of the offended parties around the world!"!

Dear Simon, I look forward to your comments. The English version of the Italian court Youtube, which I have seen, seems to reduce the charges as quoted by me above.

Re passenger-less crusing I also wonder what kind of people cruise cold, stormy, rainy, gray west Med in January? And 4 200 people sleeping overnight at Porto Giglio?? And 4 200 people shipped back to the mainland same day and flown off from Roma without papers/money/anything? Give me a break!

Heiwa wrote:Below is a photo of one of several, fabricated somewhere, heavy steel platforms to be positioned underwater on the slooping sea floor outside the wreck of Costa Concordia at Isola del Giglio to be used to refloat the water filled wreck. The platform will be lifted on a pontoon at the construction yard and towed to Isola del Giglio, where a floating crane will lift off the platform and put it on underwater on the sea floor.Source: http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... 35x368.jpgI have my doubts that the picture is real and look forward to observations supporting my doubts.

I'm curious why do you think this picture should be fake? After all the ship is really there and it has to be removed somehow.

Heiwa wrote:Dear Simon, I look forward to your comments. The English version of the Italian court Youtube, which I have seen, seems to reduce the charges as quoted by me above.

Heiwa,

The problem with the English version is that its translation IS GROSSLY WRONG AND MISLEADING. It is, in fact, incomprehensible - and cannot possibly have been made by any professional, "sworn translator"! See, the crucial, introductory statement goes like this - in Italian:"La Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di Grosseto avvisa tutte le persone offese che è stata richiesta al Giudice per le indagini preliminari l'archiviazione* nei confronti di: "

Which means (my best translation):

"The Public Prosecutor's Office at the Grosseto Tribunal informs all offended parties that the Judge in charge of the preliminary enquiries has received a request of dismissal* in relation to : "

"To place on file"? This means absolutely nothing - and actually suggests the exact contrary of a dismissal ! It would be quite impossible for any English-speaking Concordia survivor to make any sense of that important legal communication published on Youtube by the Grosseto Tribunal !!!

Also, remember that we were told that "letters were sent to the 4200 survivors" asking them NOT to travel to Giglio Island for the first anniversary of the catastrophe. Strange, huh? And yet, for important legal communications with those alleged 4200 people, they choose to go with Youtube and Facebook messaging ?

It's all a farce.

*****************************************Please note: that Official Youtube message only lists a few charges which HAVE BEEN DROPPED by the prosecution - but makes no mention of which charges, if any, are still standing! If I were a Concordia survivor, I'd be mad as hell! In fact, in order to find out which charges are still standing against Captain Schettino, I had to patiently search for that info on the internet. Here's what I found:

"Multiple homicide, shipwreck, injuries, ship desertion, abandoning disabled on board are, all lined up, all the charges against Schettino contained in the prosecution request presented today to the Grosseto Tribunal. For the captain, only the charge of having cooperated with the destruction of the Giglio habitat has been dropped."

Simon,thanks for interesting info. That's why I like Internet. Easy to communicate. I put all my writings on Internet on my website. >1 7M downloads!! I worked 20 years with a virtually Italian outfit, when I wasn't at Cairo, so I have a fair feel of the Italian lingo but the finer stuff is beyond me. I agree, the Italian Grosseto prosecutors Youtube video is ??&&£#çù% . It confused me at beginning. Anyway. Court proceedings start April 15 at Grosetto. I will not be there. Monte Carlo Tennis Open!! I love tennis! But I will follow up this Costa history. Heiwa

Yes what a farce! This bizarre idea of using youtube must be some demented way to suggest that everything is happening "publicly", as if to strangely prevent people from thinking otherwise! The methodology is absurd because lawyers exist precisely to communicate with victims and witnesses, there is no need to post badly translated stuff on a social media website. Besides there must be institutional websites better suited for that.

Please understand: The Italian version of that Yotube video is clear and well-worded enough (although the very idea that the Italian judicial system would use Youtube and Facebook to issue legal information to the "4200 Concordia survivors" is patently absurd and OUTLANDISH).

It is the English version of that YT video which is senseless and incomprehensible ! (or, as you nicely put it: "??&&£#çù%").

So just to make myself clear: by law, any offended parties (the "4200 Concordia survivors", in this case) have the right to oppose any instance of NOLLE PROSEQUI presented by the prosecutors. For simplicity's sake, let us pretend that I, Simon Shack am a Concordia passenger survivor - ok? Well, by law, the Tribunal must inform me of any NOLLE PROSEQUI actions on the part of the prosecutors that represent my interests. Now, if I only spoke English, there would be NO WAY for me to understand what that Youtube video published by the Grosseto Tribunal was trying to tell me!

It is - just as nonhocapito perfectly summed up in fewer words - JUST A FARCE ! The big, big problem here - is that this farce is actually upheld by the OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL of the Grosseto Tribunal in charge of the Concordia affair!!!